The 31-year old kicks butt as Michaela Pratt in How To Get Away With Murder and next month, she'll reach new heights as part of the highly anticipated film, The Birth of a Nation, which hits theaters on Oct. 7.

My big break: I think it was being accepted into the Yale School of Drama. There were 6 women in my class of 16, and I believed my training there and the relationships I made would set the tone for the rest of my career.

My go-to karaoke song: "Proud Mary."

The last thing that made me LOL: My dog running too fast and sliding into things.

The beauty product that has changed my life: Mario Badescu rosewater facial spray ($7, nordstrom.com). It just makes you feel fresh and light.

My fave Instagram filter: Hefe or Lo-Fi.

Why being in The Birth of a Nation is such an important role for me: I wish there were a film like this when I was growing up. To see enslaved people fully aware of how powerless they were against their oppressors actively make the choice to fight and defy them. To see that kind of bravery and self-love would have meant everything to me when I was younger. And knowing that I get to be that for someone else, that I'm a part of that narrative, means everything to me now.

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How I felt seeing myself on the big screen for the first time: I saw Birth at the Sundance Film Festival with a thousand other strangers and I couldn't believe that was me in the film. I didn't recognize myself.